GX The Little Mermaid
by luvcatz941
Summary: This is a story of a young merman who fell in love with a prince. However there is one problem; his love is a human and humans are dangerous to the sea creatures. Yet, this merteen doesn't care and tries to find a way to be with his beloved prince. More of the summery inside.
1. The Prince on Land

Chapter 1

The Prince on Land

It's a very cloudy, windy afternoon out in the ocean. Seagulls flying above and dolphins playing in the sea. Then a great big ship sails by the playful dolphins and chatting seagulls, the sailors singing as they got work done around the ship

Close to the front of the ship where a wooden mermaid is sculpted into the front, was a young 18 year old boy with beautiful spiky teal hair and incredible green eyes, wearing a sky blue long sleeve shirt with trills at the end of the sleeves with a hint of violet mixed with the blue, white pants, white and some-what brown boots, and holding a beautiful and cute purple cat with huge red eyes and a ruby settled on her forehead. Feeling the wind blowing against his face, the teen said with a sigh, "What a perfect day, Ruby! The salty smell of the ocean, the wind against your face."

Ruby, the cat in his arms mewed in agreement. She loves how the wind feels blowing through her soft fur. Turning toward his best friend, the teen said with a smile to his sea-sickened friend, "This is just perfect, Hassleberry!"

Lifting his green head up for a moment, Hassleberry reply, "Yeah, sure, this is great, Jesse." then he hurled his head back over the side of the ship. Just watch his best friend get more and more sea sick, Jesse chuckled and Ruby let out a feline giggle.

Letting a small chuckle, one sailor said as he tightened the rope to one of the sails, "With the wind blowing like this and the waves as gentle as this, Sheppard must be in a good mood, Prince Jesse."

"Sheppard?" said Jesse, him and Ruby cocking their heads to the side in confusion at the name.

Then another sailor, so much older than any of the other sailors on the ship, said to the bluenette prince, "He rules the merfolk and he can control the seas. Every sailor whose ever sailed through the seven seas know of him."

Finally finished with hurling the last of his lunch, Hassleberry came over to the sailor and said to Jesse as he wiped sweat from his forehead, "Now Jesse, no need to listen to all of this merpeople crap. They're not real."

"Hey, I've sailed the seven seas and there are real merfolk!" the elder sailor said, unknowingly throwing a fish he had in his hand back out into the sea as he scold Hassleberry about saying that mermaids and mermen were not real.


	2. The Tournament at the Academy

Chapter 2

The Tournament at the Academy

Having been released and returned to the ocean, the lucky fish let out a sigh of relief and happily swam away from the ship. Life under the surface was a completely different world. From fish swimming around coral to whales silently weave through the big blue. Not only are there fish, whales, dolphins, and sharks in the sea. For another sea creature lurks in the deep; the merpeople.

In fact, many mermaids and mermen in this specific sea are swimming off to an academy where talented mermaids and mermen duel. Today, there is a great tournament being held at the academy, actually, it's the semi-finals and the finals at the academy. Four talented mermen will be dueling in the semi-finals and the one who makes it to the finals will duel the most talented merman who ever dueled in the great sea.

And so, with the audience all settled at the tournament, a merman riding a huge seahorse cleared his throat and announced with a voice that could be easily heard through out the whole room, no matter where everyone is seated, "The head master of the Duel Academy, Headmaster Sheppard!"

In seconds, a sea-chariot, being pulled by two strong dolphins, came swimming into the large room with the headmaster in the sea-chariot, holding a golden trident. The dolphins pulled the sea-chariot to the sea crystal chandelier on the ceiling, Sheppard used the trident to light the chandelier, amazing the audience with its bright light.

After smiling at the headmaster, Atticus continued with his announcements, keeping his seahorse steady, "And now, we welcome the one who's been in charge of the duels for a long time. Let us all welcome the Duel Master, Crowler!"

With the signal given, a yellow grab riding a gold fish entered the room and had the fish swim up to Sheppard before going to greet the duelists.

Smiling at the Duel Master, Headmaster Sheppard said, "I'm really looking forward to the semi-finals and the finals of this tournament, Crowler."

"Oh yes, this year's finalists have done well." reply Crowler.

"I can't wait to see how Jaden will handle the finalist that will go up against him later in the finals." Sheppard said as he settled in his seat high above the stages and the audience.

"Yes, he does have a great skill as a duelist since he is your star pupil." Riding the fish to the stages where the four duelists are waiting, Crowler said under his breath so no one heard him, "If only he would observe the duels every once in a while."

And so, swimming before the final four, Crowler explained the rules to the four mermen before letting the duels begin. With the rules memorized, the four duelists swam over to the stage they and their opponent were assigned to duel on. With the four finalists ready, the duels began.

After a good couple of hours of the three duels in the semi-finals, a winner was chosen to duel Jaden in the finals; a merman with white bandages over his right eye, an old beat up cowboy hat settled on his black hair, and a tail the color of sand on a beach. This young merman, Jim is good friends with Jaden, so he was looking forward to duel his friend.

But, Jaden was no where in sight, which surprised everyone in the room; the audience, the duelists, Atticus, Jim, Crowler, and Sheppard was more furious than surprised. With his trident glowing with his anger, Sheppard yelled out to the entire sea, "Jaden!"


	3. Enter Jaden, Syrus, and Chazz

Chapter 3

Enter Jaden, Syrus, and Chazz

In a ship wreck graveyard, an 18 year old merteen with brown spiky hair with a lighter brown on top and a red tail looked at one of the wrecked ships, wondering what could be inside. Somewhere behind him, he heard a voice, "Jaden, wait up!"

Slightly annoyed, Jaden looked behind him and called to his friend, "Sy, hurry your slow tail up!"

Swimming up to him, the pale blue haired merteen with a dark blue tail and glasses from one of their previous discoveries finally came to a stop next to Jaden, exhausted from so much swimming. "You know I can't swim as fast as you can."

Pointing to the ship he was watching, Jaden said, "That's the next ship we're going to look at." As Jaden became excited about exploring the sunken ship, Syrus became nervous and his nervous gulp did not go unheard. Taking a firm hold of his best friend's hand before he chickened out, Jaden said as he led him to the ship, "Come on Syrus, you're not giving off a cold fin now are you?"

"Me? Of course not, Jaden."

And so, knowing how Syrus will feel about being left outside to keep an eye out for sharks, Jaden continued to pull Syrus along with him until they were in the ship. While Jaden kept his eyes out for anything different, Syrus began to shake like a seaweed.

Then when they swam up to a higher level of the wrecked ship, something caught Jaden's eyes and he became more excited; in a busted up chest was a pile of cards that look like the sea cards the merpeople use to duel. A bit off to the side, there was some sort of disk that looked similar to the duel disks that the merpeople use in a duel with their cards.

As Jaden looked at the few things they had found, Syrus began to feel more uneasy. "Jaden, I think it's time for us to leave!"

Shaking his head for a moment, Jaden reply with his ever calm and collected tone, "Syrus, would you calm down. Nothing's going to happen."

However, Jaden was proven wrong when the two teens heard glass shatter behind them and saw a shark dash toward them, jaws chomping at them. Now deciding to go with Syrus' word about leaving, Jaden stuffed the cards and duel disk into his sac, took Syrus by the hand and quickly swam out of the ship through the busted window the shark caused.

Outside with the shark still swimming after them, Jaden and Syrus swam around the ship's mast to try and confuse him or get him to run into something very hard to knock him out. Instead, having to watch the shark behind him, Syrus didn't watch where he was going when he hit his head on the mast hard.

Dizzy from hitting the mast hard, Syrus started to flutter down like a feather. Seeing the shark swimming over to Syrus, Jaden dash after him to get his best friend before the shark did. Grabbing him through the circle on an anchor, Jaden pulled Syrus through just as the shark was closing in on the boys, ending up to get stuck in the anchor instead.

After Jaden checked to be sure he didn't lose any of the cards and the disk and went to swim up to the surface where they were going to meet a friend at, Syrus said to the shark, "You big bully!" Sticking his tongue out at him, the shark snapped his large jaws at the pale blue head merteen, scarring him and Syrus quickly swam up to Jaden.

Laughing, Jaden said, "Syrus, you really are a sea-chicken."

"Am not, Jaden!" Even though Jaden does it just to tease him like his brother Zane does from time to time, Syrus hates being called a sea-chicken.

Up on surface, on a tiny speck of land, sat a black seagull. He was sitting on his perch, looking through a pair of binoculars that Jaden had given him at a few different angles, when he heard Jaden call his name. Taking the binoculars from his eyes and turned, he saw Jaden's huge smile and Syrus' shy smile.

"Hey guys. What you got to show me this time?" Chazz, the black seagull said with a dark, almost bored tone.

Taking out the sac, Jaden took out the cards and duel disk and laid them out on the land to let Chazz look. Coming down from his perch, Chazz first took a look at the cards. Flipping through the cards carefully, Chazz said, "Whoa, I do believe that the humans had gotten ideas for these from the merpeople's sea cards. The same for that disk there."

Surprised, Jaden and Syrus looked at each other with expressions of amazement. "Do you suppose humans use these like we do, Chazz?" Jaden asked.

Nodding, Chazz said as he held both the card pile and the duel disk. "Yup, I've seen humans with their versions and some would either do minor games or even tournaments with huge prizes."

By the word "tournament," Jaden froze; he had just remembered the semi-finals and finals of the tournament Headmaster Sheppard and Duel Master Crowler had thrown at the academy. Seeing his expression of realization, Syrus said, "What's wrong, Jaden?"

"Sy, it's the tournament! Damn it, the headmaster is going to kill me!" said Jaden as he snatch the cards and disk back into his sac.

"The tournament was today?" reply Syrus, remembering his older brother Zane was one of the final four in the tournament. Now with the realization surging through his veins, he became a little scarred of what wrath they'll have to go through back at the academy.

"You should get back then." added Chazz.

"Okay. See you later Chazz!"

"See you around, Jaden." Chazz waved them off as Jaden and Syrus swam as fast as they could back to the Duel Academy.


	4. The Sea Witch Watches Jaden

Chapter 4

The Sea Witch Watches Jaden

Jaden and Syrus try to swim as fast as they could back to the Duel Academy. But the two boys were unaware that they were being watched. Hiding in the shadows of the coral reef and following them, two merteens, one with red spiky hair, glasses, a dark red tail and one black merteen with black hair and black tail kept their eyes on Jaden.

Their sight was then seen through a crystal bubble in a dark grotto, where a certain banished mermaid sat watching the two fast swimming merteens, especially Jaden. "That's right, dear boy. Wouldn't want to to miss dear headmaster's tournament now, would we?" then the shadow figure let out a sarcastic laugh and spit at the word 'tournament.'

"Tournament, my tail! Why, when I lived in that academy, there were so many fun tournaments. But now look at me, wasting away into nothing. Banished into exile, while those dumb ass fools have their tournaments." Stepping into the light emitting from her cauldron, the mermaid was not a pleasant sight like she used to be; her dark blue hair had lost its shine and had refused to be manageable a long time ago, her once flawless skin started to be invaded by some small yet ugly moles, and her beautiful silver tail lost its sparkle so it's just a very dull gray.

"There has to be a way for me to get at Sheppard." Turning toward the crystal bubble, the sea witch Blair yelled, "Adrian, Axel!"

By the tone of her voice, the two merteens that were watching Jaden had bumped their heads on a sea cave ceiling. Rubbing their heads, they listened closely to Blair's words, "I want you two to keep a close eye on Jaden, Sheppard's star pupil. Maybe he will be the key to Sheppard's down fall." Blair said with a wicked grin and an evil look in her eyes.


	5. The Scolding

Chapter 5

The Scolding

Sighing, Sheppard said to the student he was furious with, "I can't believe that you weren't there at the tournament like you were suppose to be instead of wandering off."

Even though Jaden is Sheppard's star student, as much as he loved to duel, his joy of wandering off and exploring the ocean would get the best of him. "Sorry Headmaster Sheppard, I simply forgot about the tournament being today."

"Well, thanks to you wandering off on the day of the tournament, when it was time for the final match and you weren't around for it made me look like a complete fool!" said Crowler. "Now, thanks to you, I am the major laughing stock of the sea!"

Not wanting his best friend to take all of the heat from the scoldings, Syrus swam right into their faces. "It wasn't his fault!" Realizing how close he is to the headmaster and duel master, Syrus back away enough to hopefully not annoy the masters. "Well um, first thing is that we were chased by a shark. Yeah that's it! And it took a while until we managed to get away safely. Then this seagull came along and gave us a little history lesson about what he's seen."

But then, Jaden and Syrus noticed a certain look in Sheppard's eyes. With Jaden sensing more harsh scolding coming and Syrus hiding behind Jaden, the two braced themselves for more harsh words heading their way.

"You two have gone up to the surface again, Jaden? You both know that mermaids and mermen are strictly forbidden to swim up to the surface. Life above the surface is dangerous to sea life. What could have happened if you were spotted by those barbaric humans?!"

Trying to stay calm, keep his cool, Jaden said with a shrug of his shoulders, "Nothing big and dangerous happened while we were up there, sir."

Rolling his eyes, Sheppard said as he face-palmed himself, "Jaden, how many times must we go through this until it gets through your head finally? Keep in mind that humans are dangerous."

"They're not all dangerous, Headmaster!"

"Oh yes, they are. Do you think I want to see my star student, who I raised as my own since you were a child, to end up on a fisherman's hook?" said Sheppard with a fatherly grip on Jaden's shoulder.

Giving the headmaster an annoyed look, Jaden jerked his shoulder out of his strong hand and snapped, "I'm eighteen. I'm no longer a child!"

Becoming more furious, Sheppard said with a booming tone, "Don't you give me that attitude, young man. As long as you are living under my ocean, you are to obey my rules."

Trying so hard not to give up, Jaden yelled at the headmaster, "Would you just listen..."

"Not another word. And I'll never, NEVER hear you go up to the surface ever again! Is that clear?!"

With that much of his anger at him, Jaden let out an angered sigh with a pout and dash out of the office, with Syrus close behind.

With the boys gone, Sheppard let out a calming sigh to simmer down his fiery. "Hmph, teenagers. They always think and act like they know everything. There's always trouble and less moral value in their young minds." said Crowler, since Jaden gets on more bad sides besides the headmaster's.

"Do you think I was being too strict with him?" Sheppard asked the crab.

"Of course not, sir. Why, if Jaden was my adopted son, I would always show him whose boss. None of this flippin' up to the surface would ever be allowed if he was under a constant watch."

Thinking about those words, his face brightened with hope of having Jaden under control. "You're absolutely right, Crowler. All Jaden needs is an eye to constantly watch over him to keep him out of trouble. And YOU, are just the crab to do it!"

At the last part, with Sheppard pointing to the yellow crab, Crowler was taken completely by surprise.


	6. Jaden's Secret Collection

Chapter 6

Jaden's Secret Collection

With Sheppard's surprise job eating at him, Crowler walked out of the academy, sulking. "Why must I do this? I should be planning the next upcoming duels and tournaments, not watching over that trouble-some brat. Why couldn't he have Zane or Jim keep an eye on Jaden instead of me?"

Then Crowler notice Jaden and Syrus meet up with Zane with Jaden showing the contents in his sac to Zane. Glancing around for a moment, the three boys swim away; apparently they were going somewhere in secrecy. Becoming curious, Crowler went after them.

But they didn't really swim that far from the academy, for the three boys came to a stop before a some-what big boulder. Pulling it to the side with hardly any difficulty, Jaden looked around one more time before leading his friends inside a cave. Seeing the boulder falling back into place to seal the cave entrance, Crowler quickly swam to get inside. Just as the boulder was closing the entrance, a couple of his legs almost got caught, so Crowler yanked them out of the boulder's way as it sealed the entrance.

And so, Crowler continued on until he came into the base of the grotto. All around him, the walls of the cavern were like built in shelves because they were full of so many items from the human world. Then he saw the three boys. Jaden was laying on a ledge in the floor, looking at the cards and duel disk he and Syrus had found with Syrus and Zane looking at him with concern eyes, Hiding from their sight, Crowler silently paid close attention to them. "Jaden, are you okay?" said Zane."

At first he let out a sigh and then answered, "I wish I could make him understand. I just don't see things the way he does. How could a world that makes amazing things like all of this," Jaden gestured to everything in the cavern before turning to his best friends and continuing, "be a dangerous one?"

Glancing around the whole cavern, his eyes passing by Crowler's hiding spot without seeing him, Jaden let out his whole thoughts of the human world. "Just after finding all of this makes me think about that world completely different from how the headmaster feels about it. Hearing how life is up there from Chazz, it makes me want to be a part of that world."

Just hearing that statement, Crowler became furious, stepped out of his hiding spot and put on his scolding face with his claws crossed. Hearing someone clear his throat, the three boys jump and saw where Crowler stood with an angered expression. Seeing Crowler here, the boys became nervous of what the Duel Master will say to them. "Well Jaden, what is all of this crap?"

"It's just my collection, Crowler." Jaden said, quickly saying the first thing that came to mind with Syrus and Zane nodding, trying to convince him.

"Oh, I see. If the headmaster hears about this he'll..."

Crowler was interrupted when Zane went right into his face, saying, "You're not telling on him, Crowler!"

"Don't say a word about this to Headmaster Sheppard!" Jaden followed.

Giving him a fake smile, Crowler said, "Now dear boy, you're just under a lot of stress. I'll take you home right now and get you something warm to drink."

Just as Crowler was taking him by the hand, Jaden felt a large shadow hover over him. Looking at the hole at the top of the cavern, he saw something block out the moonlight. _"What is up there?" _Jaden thought as he pulled his hand out of Crowler's claw.


	7. The Storm

Chapter 7

The Storm

"Jaden?" said Crowler when he saw Jaden swim up and out of the cavern with Syrus and Zane close behind him. Since it was now his job to keep a constant watch over him, Crowler swam after the three teenagers. At the surface, Jaden, Syrus, and Zane saw a ship a few waves away. Watching the colorful explosions in the sky above the ship, Jaden became very excited, Syrus admiring the lights from the fire works, and Zane was awe-struck. The moment Crowler joined them, Jaden decided to swim up to the ship. "Jaden, get your troublesome tail back here!" Crowler called out to the curious teenager with no success of getting him back.

Right by the ship, Jaden started to climb the side until he was able to see what's going on the ship while still hiding. On board there was a duel going on between two teenagers with the teal haired and green eyed teen appearing to be winning. Looking at that one specific teen, Jaden was starting to feel a certain warmth in his heart; this boy is very handsome.

The moment the boy's opponent had lost the last of his life points, Jaden had noticed a purple cat appear out of the crowd and swiftly pounce over to him. Even though he should be hiding from the cat so he doesn't give away his hiding spot, Jaden watch the cute cat trot over to him. When she stopped right in front of Jaden, she had rubbed her body against his face sweetly.

Then as Jaden gently stroke her, he heard a voice, "Ruby, here girl!" Watching the cat scurry over to the boy with teal hair, Jaden just couldn't help but smile at him from his hiding spot. "Hey Jaden." he heard another voice and saw Chazz hovering next to him.

Turning toward his friend, Jaden could just barely make out Chazz's form; being a black seagull made him merge with the ship and the night sky. "Hey Chazz."

"So what brings you here?"

"This ship was just passing over my grotto, so Sy, Zane and I came to check it out."

"But where are they? Said Chazz, looking around for Syrus and his brother after he had settled across from Jaden.

"They are over there. I left them there so I could see about this ship."

"Okay. I've noticed a certain look in your eyes. Has one of the humans on board caught your eye?"

Blushing, Jaden said in a sheepish tone, "Y-Yeah." Then he pointed to the teal haired teen with the purple cat, Ruby.

As Chazz thought about the boy that caught Jaden's eyes, the two heard a voice from on deck. "Everyone silence. Tonight, we celebrate Jesse's victory of so many duels in his life. So, to congratulate him, I present my best friend this large victory gift." the boy who had lost in the duel against Jesse said as he pointed to a large covered up gift.

With Jesse becoming excited, Hassleberry removed the thick cover to reveal a stone statue of Jesse being heroic with a stone Ruby on his shoulder. Just seeing the statue, Jesse's smile became an awkward grin and Ruby hunched up and hissed at the statue. Turning toward his best friend, Jesse said, "Is this your way of getting at me because I didn't fall for the prince that you and so many others thought was a perfect match for me?"

"Well, some people thought this would be a wedding gift. After all, we all just want you to happily settle down." said Hassleberry as Jesse sat on the railing with Ruby still in his arms.

"Oh, I'll settle down all right, I just need to meet the right boy. Princesses are too moody and clingy. So, I'll know when I've found him, he'll be the one to give me a certain feeling."

To hear his words as he and Chazz sit just beneath him, Jaden could feel his heart flutter like a feather in the wind. But then, the sky had grown dark with storm clouds and off in the distance was the sound of thunder and a flash of lightning.

In no time, it had began to rain hard. As the waves became rough and the sky flashed with multiple lightning, Jesse, Hassleberry, and the rest of the crew went to secure things as the storm became strong.

While the ship is being rocked hard, Jaden and Chazz were having a difficult time holding on and with waves becoming unbearably strong, Syrus, Zane, and Crowler were sucked underneath the surface.

With the sailors and Hassleberry piling into life boats as the lightning set the ship on fire after a single strike, Jesse made sure everyone's managed into the life boats before he went to run into one when his foot went through the floor, forcing him to accidentally throw Ruby. But luckily for the purple cat, Hassleberry caught her when his life boat land into the water.

The ship feeling so hot from the flames, Jaden had no choice but to leap from the side of the ship and into the water, with Chazz long blown away by the powerful winds. By the time he had resurfaced, the ship had exploded. Glancing around, Jaden saw Jesse holding onto a wooden plank, unconscious. When he had gone under, Jaden dashed over to him, grabbed a tight hold of him, resurfaced and while keeping Jesse above the water to help him breathe, Jaden swam as hard as he could to land, hopefully to be able to save Jesse.


	8. Part of His World

Chapter 8

Part of His World

The storm is over, it's morning. On a beach, Jaden had managed to keep Jesse afloat and get him to dry land. Staying right next to the unconscious prince, Jaden waited for any sight of movement or breathing from Jesse as Chazz checked him for any injuries. Then at the corner of his eye, Jaden saw and heard Jesse breathing. "Chazz, he's breathing." Taking a stray lock of hair from Jesse's face, Jaden whispered as he gently stroke his cheek, "He's so beautiful."

There was one thing that no one except his best friends knows about Jaden; he has an amazing voice. "What will I give to live where you are?" Jaden said in a singing tone of voice to Jesse. "What will I pay to stay here beside you? What will I do to see you smiling at me?"

Being washed on shore with Syrus and Zane, Crowler looked up to see Jaden next to an unconscious Jesse, smiling at him and stroking his cheek. His jaw dropping in disbelief, he felt Chazz quickly shut his jaw while Syrus and Zane also watch Jaden, but with smiles. "If we could stay out in the sun just you and me, and I'll be part of your world."  
To finally be conscious enough to hear his voice, Jesse's eyes flutter open enough to see someone right next to him, singing to him as Jesse gently hold the hand caressing his cheek and smiled at the boy.

But then they had heard a voice and a cat calling. Not wanting to be caught, Jaden left Jesse to return to the sea. Seconds later after the boy's hand had left his cheek, Jesse felt Ruby rub her little body against him. As Ruby went over to the shore line and mewed to Jaden, Hassleberry helped Jesse onto his feet. "What a relief to find you here alive, Jesse!"

Looking out over the ocean, Jesse said more to himself than to Hassleberry, "A boy saved me. He sang to me, and he had the most amazing voice I've ever heard."

Letting out a chuckle, Hassleberry said as he help Jesse balance on his feet, "You must have swallowed a lot of salt water, Jess. Let's get you home."

"Come on, Ruby." Jesse called to the cat and looked out at the ocean one last time, hoping the boy that saved him would reappear.

Out in the sea with Jaden sitting on a boulder like a lounger and the others just drifting in the water, Crowler, sitting on Syrus's head, saying to all three boys but Jaden wasn't listening, "Now we need to keep this a secret between just the four of us. You won't tell Sheppard, I won't tell him and we will all stay in one piece." With Syrus and Zane nodding in agreement, Crowler noticed that Jaden didn't nod, he wasn't even looking at him and his best friends, just continue to stare after Jesse.

As his eyes sparkle with a certain feeling toward Jesse, Jaden began to sing again. "I don't know when. I don't know how. But I do know that someday starting right now I'll find a way. And when I do, someday I'll be a part of your world!"

Drifting not too far behind Jaden and his friends, Adrian and Axel were watching Jaden closely. In her grotto, Blair was laughing at what she was seeing in her crystal bubble. "I can't believe this; it's too easy! The boy is in love with a human. And not just any human: a prince!"

Letting out one more chuckle, Blair came to be enjoying her new forming plan. "Headmaster's going to love that. Sheppard's love struck star student will make a perfect addition to my garden." Turning toward the hall that led out of her room, she grinned evilly at the seaweed with faces; the seaweed used to be mermaids and mermen.


	9. A Love's Secret Revealed

Chapter 9

A Love's Secret Revealed

It has been a couple days since the storm and Jaden sang to Jesse. In those days and later, Jaden has been so love struck that it took everyone around him by surprise. Well everyone except Syrus, Zane and Crowler. Some people felt that they knew something about Jaden's romantic mood, but they would just dismiss the thought and go on with their day.

So one morning, while Jaden was humming to himself, he had accidentally bumped into the headmaster. "Morning, Headmaster Sheppard."

"Good morning, son." Then Jaden drifted away from him and the gathering curious duelists as he sang to himself as he left the room.

"He's got it bad." said Atticus as they all stare after him."

"What is it?What does he got?" Sheppard said, a little confused about Jaden's behavior.

"Isn't it obvious, headmaster? Jaden is in love." said Jim.

"Jaden, in love?" Sheppard looked after his star pupil and adopted son with a surprise excitement forming in his heart.

Pacing back and forth, Crowler said, trying to stay calm, "Okay, so far he hasn't figured it out yet. But with the boy like this, I don't know how long this will remain a secret."

Next to him, Jaden was laying on his stomach picking at the petals of a flower, saying, "He loves me. He loves me not." He continued until he pick the last petal saying, "He loves me!" Very excited, Jaden held the petal to his racing heart.

Fed up with watching him being so love struck like this, Crowler came up to his face and said, "Jaden, you need to stop being in love with this human. Keep in mind that down here is your home!" Then as Crowler went to tell how life for sea creatures is so much better for them under the sea than on land, Syrus swam up to Jaden with a huge smile.

Noticing his friend with the huge smile on his face, Jaden said, "What is it, Sy?"

Giving him the come closer sign, Jaden leaned in and let Syrus whisper something in his ear, "Big brother and I have something for you at your grotto." Jaden perking up, he followed Syrus to his grotto, leaving Crowler to continue yapping on.

When Crowler had finished and turned to Jaden, he saw that Jaden was no longer there. Sighing as his claws drop to his side, Crowler said, "Someone needs to teach that boy to listen or just pin his tail to the floor."

Then he heard a voice calling him and saw Atticus, on his faithful sea-steed, came rushing over to him, panting, "Crowler, Headmaster Sheppard wishes to see you right away, something about Jaden."

As Atticus rode off, Crowler froze when he heard that Sheppard wants to talk to him about Jaden. "He knows!"

Back at the academy, in his office, Sheppard let out a chuckle. "Well then, Jaden, who is the lucky one?" he said as he imagined the scene of Jaden telling him who he loves when he saw Crowler in the doorway of his office. Straightening up and forcing that image to the back of his mind, Sheppard said as he motioned the crab in, "Come in, Crowler."

Taking a moment to calm down his nerves and keep calm and not freak out right away, Crowler entered the office. "You wanted to speak with me about Jaden?"

"Yes. I've noticed how Jaden's been acting these past few days; a sparkle in his eyes, drifting and daydreaming about love, humming to himself." Then, noticing a frozen expression on the yellow crab's face, Sheppard said, "You haven't noticed, Crowler?"

"Oh, Jaden in love? I don't think such a thing could happen to a boy like him." said Crowler, shrugging.

Sensing something, the headmaster said with a stern tone, "Crowler..." and motioned him to come closer.

Silently gulping, Crowler swam closer to him as Sheppard said, "I can't help but feel that you're hiding something from me."

"Why would I hide anything from you, sir?"

Becoming more specific. "About Jaden,"

Feeling his crab legs shake nervously, Crowler covered them to keep the ruler of the seas from hearing them. "Jaden?"

"Being in love."

Not taking it anymore as Sheppard held a tip of the trident at his chest, Crowler exploded. "I tried to stop him, sir! I told him that the humans were dangerous but he wouldn't listen to me!"

At first he was confused, but the moment the word 'humans' registered in his mind, Sheppard became very steamed and exclaimed, "What about humans?!"

Realizing what he had just done, Crowler gulped and nervously smiled at the headmaster as he slowly slip away from the furious merman, "Who said anything about humans?"

But Crowler didn't go far, for Sheppard grabbed him and snatch him back to get some answers out of the nervous yellow crab.


	10. A Gift and Dreams Shattered

Chapter 10

A Gift and Dreams

Shattered

With Zane leading the two into the grotto, Jaden said to the Truesdale brothers, "Why can't you two tell me what this is all about?"

Sending a mischievous smile with a matching glint in his eyes in his best friend's direction, Syrus reply, "I keep telling you, Jaden, it's a surprise."

The moment they were in the base of the cavern, Jaden was in total surprise mode; right in the center was the stone statue of Jesse and Ruby from the night of the storm. Joy possessing him, Jaden took Syrus and Zane into a tight hug, saying, "You two are the best!" Approaching the statue, Jaden felt his heart flutter at the fact that he has something from the human world that resembles his love. "It looks exactly like him!"

As he imagined himself with the real Jesse, Jaden froze when he saw Headmaster Sheppard in the entrance of his grotto, with a furious expression on his face. Now all three boys becoming nervous, Jaden stood close to the statue and Syrus hid behind Zane.  
"I never thought this could happen to you, Jaden." Stepping into the light, Sheppard continue with his tone becoming more and more furious with each passing second, "When I said certain rules, I expect those rules to be obeyed!"

Biting his lower lip nervously, Jaden tried to talk but the headmaster cut him off, "Is it true that you saved a human on the night of that storm?"

"Headmaster, I had to. He would have died if I didn't save him." said Jaden as he moved behind Jesse's statue.

"He would have been one less human to worry about had he died. You know how dangerous humans are, Jaden!"

"You don't know him enough to hate him this much."

"I don't need to know him to despise him. He's one of them, making him dangerous for you to be near."

Shaking his head in disagreement, Jaden yelled in the headmaster's face without thinking, "Headmaster, I love him!" Realizing he had just revealed his secret, Jaden hid himself behind the statue.

In complete shock, Sheppard had become more furious with Jaden than he has with anyone ever before. "Have you lost your senses completely? He's a human, you're a merman."

"I don't care. Even if he was a threat to all sea creatures, I still love him." Feeling that the room is getting hot with Headmaster Sheppard's anger, Syrus and Zane backed into the hallway.

"Jaden, I will get through to you. If this is the only way for you to see he is one of them and you're not," then Jaden saw the trident glow a bright, powerful gold, he became scared of what Sheppard is going to do as he said, "so be it!"

With him pointing the trident at different items in the grotto, Sheppard used the trident's power to destroy everything from the human world that Jaden and his friends had found. With the statue of Jesse and Ruby remaining, Jaden and the Truesdale brothers tried to stop the headmaster, but Sheppard would not listen to the boys and within seconds, the statue was destroyed like everything else.

With his dreams of the human world shattered along with his collection, Jaden collapsed where the statue once stood and started to cry. Seeing Jaden like this, Sheppard felt terrible guilt that he had gone too far with his anger and left the grotto quietly. Coming out of his hiding spot, Crowler slowly approach the crying teen and said gently, "Um, Jaden..."

Without lifting his head, Jaden said to Crowler, Syrus, and Zane, "Leave me alone."

Not wanting to upset him more than he already is, Crowler and the Truesdale brothers left as well to give Jaden time to be alone.


	11. Help from the Sea Witch

Chapter 11

Help from the Sea Witch

But, shortly after Jaden was left alone, two merteens came into the cavern. The teen with spiky red hair and glasses said with a wicked tone, "Oh dear, the poor boy suffers a painful sadness."

His partner, a black merteen reply with a wicked tone, "If only there was a way to help him."

To hear the two new voices, Jaden looked up at them and said after wiping the tears away, "Who are you?"

Swimming up close to the sad and scared teen, the black merteen said with a wicked smirk on his face, "Don't be scared."

"We are just figuring out how we can help you." added the the red merteen.

Then, with an idea coming into their minds, the black merteen said as he returned to his partner's side, "Perhaps she may be of some help to you."

"Oh yes, she could help you with your problem."

"Blair could help you." Both raising a single hand as they faced each other, their hands touched as they circled each other like a couple that is dancing together. Then the two said at the same time, "She can help you be with your prince for eternity."

To hear the name of the sea witch, Jaden felt his heart tremble with fear of what Blair could do. "I'm not sure if I should." Then, "No, get out of here. I want to be alone!" And turned away from the two.

Turning to leave, the red merteen said, "Very well. We were only trying to help." Then his tail snapped on something hard enough to send it toward Jaden.

Hearing something land next to him, Jaden saw that it was a piece of Jesse's statue. Picking up the piece, Jaden gently caress it in his hands as he thought about the offer those two had given him. Turning back toward them, Jaden called, "Wait." When the two turned back toward the teen, Jaden said, "If Blair can help me get together with Jesse," Placing the statue piece back on the ground gently and getting up off the floor, Jaden continue with a firm expression on his face, "take me to her."

Grinning, Adrian and Axel said, "Follow us then, Jaden."

Not too far from Jaden's grotto, Syrus is shedding a few tears for Jaden since his dreams were destroyed. "Poor Jaden."

"I didn't mean to blurt it out like I did, I just felt so much pressure from the way Headmaster Sheppard glance at me the way he did."

Facing the Duel Master, Zane yelled, "It's your fault that Jaden is going through this. You just couldn't keep your mouth shut about this secret!" Then the three saw Jaden follow two merteens that Crowler recognized as Blair's followers.

"Jaden, where are you going? Why are you with these two riffraff?" said Crowler when they swam up to Jaden.

Not looking him in the eye, Jaden said as he swam past the Duel Master, "I'm going to see Blair."

To hear that he's going to see her, Crowler said as he grabbed Jaden's tail fins, "No, Blair is a demon, she's a monster!"

Stopping for a brief moment, Jaden yelled at the yellow crab, "Why don't you go tell the headmaster? You're good at getting me into trouble!" and flicked him off his tail as he went to follow Adrian and Axel.

Clearing his mind of the frustration, Crowler and the Truesdale brothers went to follow the three to be sure nothing happens to Jaden. Arriving at a grotto in the skeleton of a giant whale, Jaden became a little nervous as Adrian and Axel lead him inside. In a hallway that lead to Blair's room, Jaden was grossed out by the sight of the seaweed with faces. What Jaden didn't know was that all the moans and groans from these seaweeds were warning him not to go see the sea witch.

Then Jaden heard a voice from the room, "Come in, dear boy. We mustn't wander through the hallways, it's rude." Just as Jaden was about to open his mouth to speak, Blair raised her hand as she went over to a vanity, "No need to tell me. I'm already aware of why you came." Putting sea foam into her hair and lipstick on her lips to make herself more presentable, Blair continue, "You want to be with the one whose won your heart. I wouldn't blame you, dear Jaden, your prince is quite a catch. However the only way to be with him is for you to become a human yourself."

Now wondering if that is possible, Jaden said, feeling his heart leap at the possibility of being turned into a human, "Can you do that, Blair?"

Before turning to face him, an evil grin spread across her face before putting on a mask of a sincere woman. "My dear, sweet Jaden, that's what I do. Helping others in need is what I live for."

Just outside the room, Crowler, Syrus and Zane remain hidden, keeping a close eye on what Blair will do. "That liar. Her 'helping' others is what got her banished in the first place." said Crowler.

"Now, before I begin the spell, I'm going to need to let you know something. The spell will last for three days. While you are a human for those three days, you got to get princy to fall in love with you. And then, he's got to kiss you. But not just an ordinary kiss. It'll be the kiss of true love. If he does kiss you before dusk on the third day, you'll remain a human permanently. But if he doesn't, you'll turn back into a merteen and then, you'll belong to me."

Not liking the idea that Jaden could become Blair's, Syrus and Zane were just about to march into the room to stop them when Axel and Adrian reappeared, keeping the three from going into the room. Holding his face with one hand, Blair then said, "What do you say to that, dear Jaden?"

Thinking it over a bit, Jaden said, "If I become human, I'll never be with the headmaster and friends ever again."

"That's right. That is one downside to this, but you'll be with the one you love. Now that you're going to go through with this, I'll need a small token."

"But I don't have anything."

"Actually there is something I want. That thing is your voice."

A hand to where his vocal cords are, Jaden said, "But without my voice, how can I communicate with anyone?"

"You'll still have your looks, your pretty face, and don't forget the use of body language." And so, taking out a contract and a fish skeleton pen, Blair handed the two things to Jaden. Without a moment of hesitation, Jaden took the pen into his hand and wrote his name on the dotted line at the bottom.

With the contract signed, Blair prepared the spell in her cauldron and before starting the spell that will turn Jaden into a human, she set up a tornado force field to keep Crowler and the Truesdale brothers from getting close to Jaden and in seconds, big black hands appeared out of the cauldron and a light showing where his voice is in his vocal cords, one hand held him still as the other hand went inside and took out Jaden's voice.

Trapping his voice in a coral necklace she wears, that's when Jaden felt something happen to his body, feeling an unbearable pain run through his body in lightning speed until it reached his tail. Within seconds, Jaden's tail got painfully torn in half, becoming a pair of human legs. With the tornado gone and Jaden trying to swim since he couldn't breathe with his new pair of legs hurting, Syrus and Zane immediately swam over to his side, both holding one side of the former merteen and they swam up to the surface as hard and fast as they could with Crowler close behind.

Finally reaching the surface, Jaden breathed in a huge breath of air. Almost collapsing back into the ocean, he was steadied by Zane and Syrus as the two swam to get Jaden onto land.


	12. Second Meeting

Chapter 12

Second Meeting

Not too far from the castle, on the beach, the sound of a flute being played drifted along with the wind. Jesse is laying back against a boulder with Ruby curled up next to him, trying to replay the song the boy who sang to him after the storm. Hearing Jesse stop playing the flute, Ruby perked up as Jesse got to his feet. "His voice, I can't get it out of my head." said Jesse, holding his head with one hand as the boy's voice repeat in his mind.

Leaping into his arms, Ruby rubbed her body against his chest. Whoever the boy was, Ruby really liked him. Stroking the cat on her back, Jesse said to the purple cat, "I looked everywhere, Ruby. Where could he be?"

But what Jesse doesn't know is that he is not too far. In fact, Jaden is on the other side of the beach, all washed onto the shore with Syrus, Zane and Crowler exhausted from all the swimming they did to get Jaden to land. Sitting up, as he gently wipe some of his hair from his eyes, the first thing that caught Jaden's attention was instead of seeing his tail, he had a pair of legs; human legs. Taking one hand, Jaden gently ran his fingers over the skin, afraid that they'll disappear and his tail would be there. But the moment his fingers touched the soft skin, Jaden felt relieved that they are real._ "I guess Blair's spell worked after all."_ Jaden thought with a sigh.

Within a couple minutes, the four heard a voice and saw a familiar black seagull flying down to them. "Well well, look what the catfish dragged in!" Landing right next to Jaden, Chazz then noticed the legs instead of the red tail he's used to seeing. "I see you have legs instead of that gorgeous tail. How did this happen?"

"After the harsh moment with the headmaster, Jaden went to go see Blair because he really wanted to be with this Jesse." instead of Jaden answering, Zane answered his question.

"Why hasn't a single word come out of Jaden since I got here?"

"Jaden traded his voice for the spell that has turned him into a human." said Syrus as Jaden tried to stand on his newly acquired feet. "He needs to get this prince to fall in love with him and he's gotta kiss him."

"But sadly, Jaden only has three days to do this." just as Crowler said this, Jaden had lost balance on his wobbly legs and had collapsed into the water. "There's another problem; if Jaden doesn't get this boy to kiss him by twilight on the third day, Blair claims him like she did with her other victims."

Thinking over the whole situation, Chazz reply with a nod, "Man that really is a problem and Jaden has three days to avoid that."

Raising a claw, Crowler said, "But I'm not allowing Jaden to go through with this! So I'm marching back to Blair's to convince her to give Jaden back his voice so he could go home." Then Zane pointed to Jaden, having Crowler look back at him only to see a sad expression on his face.

"If Jaden goes back home without even trying his chance with Jesse, he'll just live with a broken heart for the rest of his life." added Syrus, understanding his best friend's pain more than anyone else.

"Besides, this is partly your fault, Crowler. Had you not spilled this secret to Headmaster Sheppard, Jaden would never had made this choice." added Zane.

Shaking his head, Crowler finally said, "Alright, I'll help you get together with your dream prince."

Now a smile on his face, Jaden carefully got back on his feet with some support from Syrus and Zane while Chazz got an old sail and rope to make a tunic for Jaden.

Walking along the shore in the direction of where Jaden and his friends are, Ruby picked up a familiar scent. Recognizing it as the scent of the boy who saved Jesse, Ruby became very excited as she followed the scent, with Jesse running after her.

Back with Jaden, he was all dressed with a tunic made out of an old sail, old black pants that the Truesdale brothers found that luckily fit Jaden, and a rope to keep the sail and pants secured. Then, the five saw a purple cat come scurrying over to them. Although Zane and Syrus hid back into the water with Chazz flying off and Crowler hiding in a pocket in Jaden's tunic, Jaden didn't run away from the purple cat. The moment he saw the big red eyes and the ruby on her forehead, Jaden recognized her as the cat he saw on the night of the storm. As the cat sweetly rub against his legs, Jaden heard a voice and saw Jesse appear.

With her running back to him, Jesse couldn't help but chuckle at her behavior. "What's got into you, girl?" Glancing up, Jesse froze on the spot when he saw Jaden. Walking over to him as Ruby rub herself against Jaden's leg, Jesse said as he stroke the perky feline. "Sorry about Ruby, she's harmless." Jesse froze at the moment he gazed into Jaden's eyes.

As the boy in front of him smile at him, Jesse couldn't help but feel a certain familiarity about this boy. "You seem very familiar. Have we met before?"

The wonderful memory of their first meeting running through his mind, Jaden nodded with that smile still lingering. Both their hearts racing, Jesse said as he took Jaden's hands into his, "Then you have to be the one I've been searching for. What is your name?"

Jaden's lips did say his name, but his voice didn't, remembering that he had to trade his voice for Blair's spell. His hand to his vocal cords area on his neck, Jesse caught on. "You can't speak?" When Jaden shook his head with a sad look in his eyes, Jesse's hopes had also crashed that he had finally found the boy that saved him.

As Jaden let out a puff of air to push some hair out of his eyes, he then also remembered the advice that Blair had given him; the use of body language. So taking her advise, Jaden tried to explain what had happened with the use of body language when he suddenly lost balance again, but this time he landed in Jesse's strong arms.

Glancing into each others eyes as Jesse help Jaden with his balance, Jesse said, "You must have been through a lot lately." Putting an arm around Jaden's shoulders, Jesse continued with a smile, "But don't you worry. Things will be alright from now on." As he lead him back to the castle with Ruby close behind them, Jaden glanced back to the Truesdale brothers and Chazz as the three winked at him, whispering, "We'll be watching over you."


End file.
